Asian Latin American encyclopedia topics

History

The first Asian Latin Americans were Filipinos who made their way to Latin America (particularly Mexico) in the 16th century, as sailors, crews, slaves, prisoners, adventurers and soldiers during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. For two and a half centuries (between 1565 and 1815) many Filipinos sailed on the Manila-Acapulco Galleons, assisting in the Spanish Empire's monopoly in trade. Some of these sailors never returned to the Philippines, and many of their descendants can be found in small communities around Baja California, Sonora, Guerrero, Culiacán, Guadalajara, Mexico City.

Most recent Asians, however, arrived in the 19th and 20th century as contract workers or coolies, others as economic refugees (especially from China, Japan), political or war refugees (victims of World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War).

Today, the overwhelming majority of Asian Latin Americans are of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean descent, with Vietnamese the most significant group thereafter. While Vietnamese Latin Americans are almost entirely confined to Cuba, other Asian groups are represented throughout Latin America.

Geographic distribution

Four and a half million Latin Americans (almost 1% of the total population of Latin America) are of Asian descent. The number may be millions higher, even more so if all who have partial ancestry are included. For example, Asian Peruvians are estimated at 3% of the population there, but one source places the number of all Peruvians with at least some Chinese ancestry at 4.2 million, which equates to 15% of the country's total population.

Most who are of Japanese descent reside in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, while significant populations of Chinese ancestry are found in Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela, and Costa Rica (where they make up about 1% of the total population). Nicaragua is home to 12,000 ethnic Chinese; the majority reside in Managua and on the Caribbean coast. Smaller communities of Chinese, numbering just in the hundreds or thousands, are also found in Colombia, Ecuador and various other Latin American countries. There is also a significant Filipino and Taiwanese community in El Salvador. The largest Korean communities are in Chile, Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico and Argentina. There are around 50,000 living in Guatemala. There is also a Hmong community in Argentina. Panama has a small Asian Indian community.

In Peru, Asians (primarily ethnic Japanese and Chinese) constitute 3% of the population by some estimates, the largest as a percentage of any Latin American country. Japanese Peruvians have a considerable economic position in Peru. Many past and present Peruvian Cabinet members are ethnic Asians and former president Alberto Fujimori is of Japanese ancestry.

Brazil is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan, numbering about 1.5 million.

Diaspora

Japanese Peruvians who immigrate to Japan are often relegated to low income jobs typically occupied by foreigners. As with other immigrants, they are often vulnerable to the Yakuza.

Asian Latinos

Most Asian Latin Americans who have migrated to the United States and Canada live in the largest cities, and can be found living in Asian American, Asian Canadian, or Latino communities in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Houston San Diego, and Dallas-Fort Worth. They and their descendants are sometimes known as Asian Latinos.

In the 2000 US Census, 119,829 Hispanic or Latino Americans identified as being of Asian ancestry alone. In 2006 the Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimated them at 154,694 or even 277,704.

Some notable Americans of Asian and Hispanic or Latino heritage include Carlos Galvan, Kelis, and Chino Moreno.

Composition

Asian Latin American population (incomplete data)
Nation	Chinese	Indian	Japanese	Korean	Filipino	Others
Argentina	60,000	1,600	6,604	35,000
Belize	7,500	500
Bolivia	5,900		7,986
Brazil	490,000	16,900	1,500,000	293,000
Chile	11,000	596	880	1,163
Colombia	11,000	20
Costa Rica	7,873	16
Cuba	113,828		616
Dominican Republic	50,000		3,000	800
Ecuador	15,000	5
El Salvador	1,700
Guadeloupe		40,000
Guatemala	2,700	2,000	400	50,000
Honduras	5,200			2,900
Mexico	35,000	400	15,000	20,000	200,000
Nicaragua	12,000
Panama	200,000	2,164	456
Paraguay	10,000		10,321	7,200
Peru	100,000	145	35,685
Puerto Rico		4,500
Uruguay	200		456
Venezuela	400,000	690	828

Notable persons

Jorge Cham, Chinese Panamanian, created the popular comic strip Piled Higher and Deeper.
Franklin Chang-Diaz, Chinese Costa Rican, former NASA astronaut.
Bruce Chen, Chinese Panamanian, pitcher for the Texas Rangers.
Keiko Fujimori, Japanese Peruvian congresswoman
Alberto Fujimori, Japanese Peruvian, President of Peru from 1990 to 2000.
Ana Gabriel, Chinese Mexican, singer and composer.
Hiromi Hayakawa, Japanese Mexican, singer.
Myrna Mack, Chinese Guatemalan, anthropologist of Mayan descent.
Barbara Mori, Japanese Uruguayan, actress.
Arlen Siu, Chinese Nicaraguan, martyr of the 1979 Sandinista revolution.
Erasmo Wong, Chinese Peruvian entrepreneur and owner of various retail chains